Santorini: 10 things to know before visiting Santorini

If you are already following my Instagram, you would know that I have recently just come back from Santorini. It was my first time there having been at the top of my dream destination list for so long. Santorini is an Instagram dream, and with very dull weather in London lately, I was desperate for some sun. Some hot Greek sun.

I only did the very basic of research and booked a trip on a whim, very last minute, which is very unlike me. I haven’t come across any good blog posts either, so I wanted to share with you some of my top 10 things you should bear in mind if you are thinking about booking your trip to Santorini.

1 – Best time to go:

If you are thinking about Santorini as a sure-bet destination to catch some rays, you will definitely get it if you go at the right time.

Santorini operate in “season”, which begins at start of April and goes on till end of October.

I went at the end of April, which was just perfect with constant 23+ degree temperatures during the day and 18+ at night. With the lack of cover for shade in most places on the island, the sun can get very intense, so much so that it can feel much hotter than it actually is. If you don’t lather yourself in high factor sun screen before you head out, you will be in trouble. I never get sunburnt so I went without, and suffered the most painful sunburn ever after Day 1. If there was one big advice, take plenty of sun lotion and after-sun – it really can take you by surprise. Evenings can get windy and chilly, so take a cardigan or jumper with you. Santorini was still pretty quiet during end of April with it being off-peak season, which I totally loved – the streets were walkable without it feeling like a Tokyo rush hour; best restaurants were easy to get reservations; service was super attentive and friendly; and you can enjoy peace and tranquility in the most gorgeous surroundings feeling like you almost have the place to yourself.

The busiest time of the season is July and August naturally, which I would avoid at all costs. Not only are flight/hotels crazy expensive, but it will be extremely busy once you are there (the streets are super narrow so you will be queueing up in lines to get from A to B). I think April/May would be the perfect time to go to catch some pre-summer sun, and September/October to cure those post-summer blues!

2 – Myth that Santorini is super expensive:

How many times how you drooled over Instagram photos of the most spectacular Santorini sun setting over infinity pools with glasses of champagne balanced on the white washed walls, and thought, my goodness, it must be an exclusive and a super pricey place to be! Think again.

With Easyjet flying direct to Santorini, your flights are covered on a low-budget airline (approx. £250pp return at end of April). You would have a lot of choice of hotels, all very lovely, that you would be able to get for around £150-250+ per night for 3* to 5* hotels. Check Expedia for Flight+Hotel option, which is often cheaper with the Easyjet option (check for this as they have other flights with stop-overs which you don’t want to be doing). Once you are there, your main expenses will be food and drinks – I found these to be good estimates of €10-25 for a main course, €3.5 for bottled beer, €10 for smoothies. Check out my post on the place you have to have dinner at [here] in Imerovigli! Souvenirs are bargainable, so bring your best poker face and A-game to negotiate on prices. Take enough cash with you, it’s just easier.

It really is like any other European destination, even though it is one of the more expensive of the Greek islands, there is nothing exceptionally expensive about Santorini at all, so you really can experience the piece of sheer bliss and beauty of this island for yourself!

Concentrating hard on souvenir shopping… bargained these beautiful little plates down to 5 for €18. Neighbouring shops tried to sell them to me for €25. They chose the wrong Japanese girl…

Laughed at this… but no need to buy your sibling half a mug!

3 – Getting Around:

For your arrival at Thira Airport, there is nothing better than the comfort of knowing that your ride awaits to take you straight to the hotel. I would highly recommend booking ahead of your arrival a private transfer, and you will have a tanned Greek man holding your name as you come through arrivals. I paid €30 online in advance (€15pp) and I am so glad I did this. You can also reserve mini-van-come-coaches that does drop-off service to various hotels, which is marginally cheaper, but I really don’t think it’s worth your time. Let’s face it, after you endure nearly 4 hours of flight time from London, you would just want to get to the hotel as soon as possible, no?? You can book a return in advance, or alternatively, you can get your hotel to call a local taxi to take you back to the airport. This costs €20 (from Imerovigli) plus my driver cheekily made me pay addition €5 for ‘reserving the taxi’.

Once you are in Santorini though, there are many local businesses offering rent-a-car or rent-a-quadbike. There are plenty of local taxis too – but be wary as they don’t have any meters so you would have to tell them where you’re going first and ask how much it would be, and negotiate as necessary! I didn’t come across many local buses, however they do exist. The best way to see the island though is to walk. I would highly recommend getting your good walking shoes on and walk everywhere. There are good walking paths, and I even did the hike from Imerovigli to Oia, which took me 2hrs [click here for the post on the hike!], and I would highly recommend you do this. Oh, and did I mention there are donkeys as mode of transport as well… usually to take barrels of olive oil up and down cliffs… but I hear they carry tourists as well. Knock yourself out.

Hiking between Imerovigli and Oia… the scenery justifies the walk

4 – Where to Stay:

The main places to stay would be Fira (capital town), Imerovigli (in the middle between Fira and Oia), and Oia (most famous for sunset). The thing is that when you’re looking online, a lot of the hotels are very similar in that they are all white, down steep cliffs, has infinity pools etc. So it depends on what you want: Fira – for shopping, beach, nightlife. Imerovigli – for quiet, private jacuzzis, exclusivity. Oia – for simply chilling. Just make sure you stay in at very least a 3* for cleanliness sake.

I would personally recommend staying in Imerovigli, as it is brimming with beautiful hotels with stunning views to wake up to without having tourists walk right outside your room. Fira is 15min walk in one direction and Oia is 2hr walk/15min taxi in the other direction. I stayed at Chromata Up Style Hotel, which was perfect (I will do a dedicated post on this later – watch this space!), but there is On the Rocks Hotel as well as Grace Hotel nearby which I would like to try next time. I walked by some hotels in Fira but it is a very crowded town and have hoards of tourists walking right outside them that I would feel restless staying there. Oia is nicer than Fira to stay in, but there isn’t much to do there at all, so if you plan to sit by the pool all day long and be ages away from anything, this could be for you.

Gorgeous Oia

A typical hotel

The hotel I stayed in at Imerovigli

Fira looking fine at night

5 – What to wear:

Getting your Instagram ready for envy-inducing photos? With white and blue being the main colour backdrop to all your photos, you will need to think what would look best against it.

Girls, do yourselves a favour and leave your heels at home. This is one of the few fashionable places on Earth where flats are totally in. You will be walking a lot, even in the evenings, and you really don’t want to be painfully tottering around in your Jimmy Choos up and down those steps. I saw some ladies wearing wedges and they looked super uncomfortable! Bring trainers or walking shoes if you plan to get around and see other towns, as flip flops and sandals can wear you down on those walks.

Everywhere on the west side of Santorini island is great to see the sunset over the Caldera.

Those sunset photos you see most often from Santorini are taken in Oia, with the windmill on top of a cliff. I did that on one of the first days I was there, just to see it for myself. Here’s a tip though – it is a massive tourist trap and you will have to be prepared to secure a spot about 2 hours ahead of sunset time. With sunset around 8pm (end of April), I killed time at a cafe nearby basking in the sun, and at around 7pm went to the Castle ruins and found a spot to sit. One of the many perks of going off-peak season! The Australian girl next to me had been sitting there on hard rocks since 6pm! By 7:30pm, you would look around up and down the cliff face and see a sea of people. There is not a single space to be found all along the little streets. Everyone is here for one thing. As the sun sets over the horizon, with uninterrupted views, and the sky turns a beautiful amber, it is pretty breathtaking. Once the last bit the sun disappears everyone starts clapping, it’s funny but part of the charm, so just go with it. After the sun sets though, everyone tries to scurry off to their dinner engagements leading to a massive traffic jam of people… eugh, just think end of a football game. Suffice to say it is a nightmare with narrow streets of Oia. All I can say is breathe, good luck and be patient! So is it worth it? Even if it is to feed off the buzz from the crowds and make new friends whilst you wait for the sunset, it is worth enduring. [Click here for the post on Oia!]

Once you have seen the sunset from Oia one evening, try staying at your cliff-side hotel and seeing the sunset from the comfort and leisure of your own room and/or private hot tub. There is something very relaxing and intimate about this, and something special to share with your loved ones. On another night, I would also recommend making dinner reservation for 7pm and secure best tables for those restaurants in direct view of the sunset. There are a couple of good restaurants for this in Imerovigli and along the path to Fira [Click here]. What I didn’t get the chance to do on this trip was to go on a sunset catamaran boat trip. There are these sailing boats that takes you out to see the sunset and get treated to dinner on board. Looks idyllic and a different perspective to see the sunset from the water level.

Sunset over dinner in Imerovigli

7 – What to eat and drink:

Greek/Mediterranean food is simple and comforting.

For breakfast, you get omlettes, sunny side eggs, pastries, baklava, freshly squeezed juices and delicious coffee. I would highly recommend staying in a hotel where they do good breakfasts (ensure it’s included in price of your hotel), as it is super lovely to wake up and have your breakfasts delivered to your balcony or go down to the buffet by the pool. Unless you are staying in Fira, there are very little other breakfast options and mini-supermarkets are not good for grab to go foods at all.

Lunch is Greek salads doused in olive oil, calamari, fried eggplants, souvlaki, washed down with Donkey Beer (local beer) or frozen yoghurt fruit smoothies with greek honey which are to die for. You will end up seeking refuge from the sun many times a day, and various forms of iced coffees are on offer that are excellent. If you are into your wines, Santorini is famous for producing superb wines. There are plenty of local offerings on menus that I would recommend you try, and if there is time, check out some of the vineyards that lie more inland.

For dinner, I would make the most of the local seafood on offer and ask for the catch of the day. They cook fish super simple – stone-baking them seasoning with lemon and olive oil, and as the fish is so fresh, that’s simply all you need! Even if you are not a seafood lover, don’t be put off by everyone telling you that you must eat seafood there. Beef and chicken options are always on the menu, and there are lot of pasta dishes as well. I ate dinner at a local tavern in Oia, and at an amazing outdoor fine dining restaurant in Imerovigli on another night.

This was the view over breakfast… absolutely incredible

These frozen yoghurt fruit smoothies with a layer of greek honey at the bottom… SO good

8 – Only for couples?

There is a massive conception that Santorini is a perfect honeymoon destination. And you are right, it absolutely is.

It is a stunning place with white and blue as far as you can see on the sides of steep cliffs, sea views all round, little nooks and crannies at every turn where you can sneak a kiss… it is naturally a romantic place. But having said this, I can totally see this as a fantastic place to come with friends. To be able to chill and sunbathe during the day, and go enjoy the nightlife in Fira (capital) at night. Oia and Imerovigli are quiet after the sun sets, but it is in Fira that is ‘happening’. There are a few bars and clubs that I spotted that looked totally fabulous. I would absolutely love to come here with a bunch of friends next time… I just live in fear that I would need to do this sooner than later before it becomes the next Ibiza or Marbella!

9 – Are you camera ready?

Santorini is every photographer’s dream. Even if you are not, you will find yourself pulling your iPhone out and start capturing moments. It is one of the most photogenic places ever.

I read so many reviews beforehand of the need to take extra camera batteries. I didn’t, but I didn’t need to worry. I was averaging around 400 frames a day (which is a lot), and had only used around 50% of my camera battery per day. Just remember to bring your charger to plug in every night, and even if you take a lot of photos like me, you should be alright.

I stopped counting how many selfie-sticks I had encountered. You may think it’s terribly lame, but have no fear of whipping that thing out when in Santorini. Yes it is a touristy thing to do, but let’s face it, everyone there is a tourist and if you’re going as a couple, how else are you going to get the picture of you two together?

There are a lot of wifi places on the go, so you can always transfer your best pics onto your phone and upload them onto social media for your friends to see what you’re up to! Hashtag #sorrynotsorry #wishyouwerehere

10 – Just do it

I had all these misconceptions about Santorini before I went. Is it going to be a very expensive holiday? Is the flight time too long to be on an Easyjet flight? Are the locals going to rip me off as a tourist? Will they be able to speak good English? Will there be good enough sun for a noticeable tan? Will it live up to the high expectations I had built up? Should I look up other greek islands as well to compare and contrast?

Just book it. Just do it. Honestly. Santorini will always remain right up there on my favourite destinations – it is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, service is super friendly, food is great and the weather is blindingly sunny.

If you are a hard-working City busy-body like me, there is no better place to relax and completely take your mind off than this little Greek island. It really is worth it.

*** I have done 4 other posts on Santorini which you may find super useful! ***